Tag: almond butter

Yesterday I posted about Phat Fudge! One of the key ingredients in my version is almond butter. The fat nuts contain is an essential part of the ketogenic diet, but I don’t think I need to explain the health benefits of nuts.

Now buying almond butter is quick and easy, and no doubt having a jar of almond butter that lasts a while feels less wasteful. Still, what sort of additives do those jars contain to increase shelf life? And will those additives countermand all the goodness of just almonds? Just how much harder would it be to make your own?

Almond butter is surprisingly easy to make. Buy a bag of raw almonds, toast it in the oven and blend it in a food processor until creamy. Add a tiny bit of oil, if you must, to make the almond butter smoother quicker.

Spread the almonds on a baking sheet and bake at 275 degrees F for about 15 minutes. Pour the toasted almonds into your food processor and let it blend. Occasionally stop the machine and scrape down the sides.

Eventually, the almonds will release its own oil turning the crumbles into dough, then into a paste, and finally to butter. It’ll take somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes.

If you lack patience and want to cut the process time, when the almonds start to clump together pour in a tablespoon of MCT oil or something equally flavorless and healthy.

That’s it! Enjoy!

For further reading on the benefits of almond butter, I’ve included the links below:

So what am I doing in the meantime? Well, to help my husband Dave maintain his weight loss, I make Phat Fudge! This a snack idea Dave came across as he decided to journey into the ketogenic diet. To satisfy his mid-afternoon munchies, Dave’s relies on a handful of nuts or phat fudge to stave off hunger and give his energy a boost.

The credit for the original idea goes to The Paleo Chef, Mary Shenouda. I tweaked the recipe to fit Dave’s palate. This is truly key to Dave’s weight loss.

Since I make my own almond butter, I find two cups of raw almonds make slightly more than 1 cup almond butter. So I use about as much as I believe is a cup, scrapped from the food processor into a sauce pan . Throw in 8oz or 1 cup of butter and whisk the two together on low heat until it’s melted and combined.

Add honey, then raw cacao. Whisk well until cacao paste has completely melted.

Add in the rest of the ingredients.

Pour the mixture into a silicon ice cube tray. I usually add some cacao nibs and walnuts to the bottom of the tray before pouring in the hot mixture and then top it with some more nibs and walnuts for a nice crunch. Pop into the freezer to set.